Leg three is off to a great start following
a highly productive dive at the Sea Cliff or GR-14 hydrothermal vent field.
We dove here with
Tiburon in 2000 and 2002 and collected samples
of hydrothermal fluids from 305° C vents. The primary objective of
today’s dive was to collect tubeworms from the far corners of the vent
field to check for genetic diversity. We also collected several Galatheid
crabs (squat lobsters) to compare the genetics to similar crabs from other vent fields.

ROV Tiburon also collected samples of a strange material that coated the seafloor near diffuse vent areas and supported a wide variety of small animals. This material, known as 'blue munge', is made up of colonies of microscopic protozoa. Filaments of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria that resemble Thiothrixand Beggiatoa were clinging to the tubes of the protozoa.

Biologists used the manipulator on ROV Tiburon to Collect tubeworms from the Sea Cliff hydrothermal vent field for DNA analysis.

Revisiting this site allowed us to assess the extent of change in the
hydrothermal field. This field seems to be changing very little with similar
numbers of hydrothermal vents issuing fluids at temperatures slightly above
300° C. The vents have chosen the non-smoking section. Even though
the fluids coming out of the vents are very hot, they are clear rather
then “smoky.” Analysis of the vent fluids in this area previously collected
by our colleague Karen Von Damm at the University of New Hampshire has
shown that the fluids contain low levels of dissolved metals. The reason
is that the pH of the fluids is higher than in most vent fields, so they
are not acidic enough to dissolve a lot of metal from the basalt volcanic
rocks that underlie the vent field. Therefore, the fluids do not precipitate
sulfide minerals when they emerge into cold sea water (this is what makes
the black “smoke” that was seen above the chimneys on the Juan de Fuca
Ridge during the previous leg of this cruise). The chimneys here just vent
hot shimmering water.

After we completed our sampling of hydrothermal vent fauna and collected
some altered volcanic rocks for analysis, we dropped down to the bottom
of the vent field to see if the octopus brooding ground we observed in
2002 was still being used. In a small area with outcropping basalt rock
we observed more than 40 octopuses brooding eggs. The mother octopuses fiercely
guarded their eggs, but we convinced a few to move enough that we could
see that there were dozens of eggs being guarded by each octopus.

A thin temperature probe (at right) attached to ROV Tiburon was used to measure the temperature of the clear, shimmering hydrothermal fluids emerging from a vent on the Gorda Ridge.

Four female octopuses brood their eggs amidst the pillow lavas of the Gorda Ridge. The lava pillow in the foreground is covered with a network of brittlestars.

There was clearly something special about the area where the octopuses
were nesting. Compared to other areas of basalt outcrop in the area, this
area was literally crawling with brittle stars and had many more attached
animals such as anemones. In some areas there was warm water leaking out
of the seafloor, and at least two octopuses were observed to be nesting with
their eggs directly in the hydrothermal flow. Many others may be bathed
in hydrothermal fluid that was flowing too slowly to be observed. Unfortunately,
our temperature probe was damaged while measuring some of the high temperature
vents, so we were not able to measure the temperatures where the octopuses were
nesting.

We did observe a few very small Ridgeia tubeworms in this area,
but most of the conspicuous vent fauna were absent, suggesting that perhaps
the hydrogen sulfide levels in the vent fluids are too low to support normal
chemosynthetic fauna.

The vent field where we dove today is a bit unusual, but not unique,
in that it occurs in somewhat older rocks away from the spreading axis.
These rocks have been moved by faulting to up above the main rift valley
floor. Tomorrow we will descend into the rift valley and look at an area
that erupted in 1996 forming a ridge of pillow basalts. How will the seafloor
have changed since then? Will any animals have colonized the new flow?
Tune in tomorrow and we’ll let you know what we find.